iPlayer? What's an iPlayer? ILX's top 50 TV shows of the 90s!

Well, I have high hopes for my top 4 (which should be SO hard to guess) all finishing inside the top 10...in reality, Brass Eye and IAP might fall a little lower.

Father Ted will win this thing by a street. Jerry who?

It'll be a tug of war between FT and Seinfeld for the top two spot, prolly. Although I like the show fine (I do own the entire series), I don't see any reason why Seinfeld should finish top 5. The '90s were composed of better stuff.

would be very surprised if Father Ted or anything else beat The Simpsons. This would also be very stupid and wrong. So when's Ren & Stimpy btw?

oh wait damn forgot the simpsons

hmmmmmm

Samo's predos:
5. Seinfeld (but hoping Buffy instead)
4. Day Today
3. Father Ted
2. Twin Peaks
1. The Simpsons

The Simpsons should rate highly (perhaps even #1), but I can't help but wonder if its cachet was damaged by the last decade of 'meh'.

Father Ted will win this thing by a street. Jerry who?

Nah, suspect that Simpsons will probably edge it partly due to greater visibility. Top 5, Day Today, Twin Peaks, FT, Simpsons and one other which I haven't a clue. Ren and Stimpy? X-Files?

X-Files is another one that shouldn't place as highly as it probably will. Loved it back in the day, but I rewatched a large chunk of it a couple of years ago and it doesn't really hold up. It's not bad and it definitely has its moments, but it sure isn't great.

i would like to see I'm Alan Partridge in the top 5

Seeing everyone's predictions is fun. I'll buy a pint for the person who gets closest to the top 10, provided they live in or are prepared to come to London. Failing that I'll email them a picture of one.

i would like to see I'm Alan Partridge in the top 5

I would have thought it was at least as popular as Father Ted

IAP is the 90s UK comedy apex - love it a lot more than TDT and even Father Ted (tho the latter is a bit less painful)

I accurately predicted the top ten in the '00s poll...albeit out of order and a bit late in the game, after a good number of things had been eliminated. But still! I'll take a stab at predictions for the '90s, although all of these UK shows that I'm unaware/barely aware of are total wildcards. In no particular order:

Simpsons
Seinfeld
Father Ted
X-Files
Buffy
I'm Alan Partridge
Larry Sanders
Twin Peaks
The Day Today
Kids In The Hall

I may have mistakenly omitted Mr. Show or Brass Eye, but I guess we'll see, won't we!?!

swap father ted and seinfeld and that's pretty much the order i expect

also drop x-files a few places and bump the day today and twin peaks up

I feel fairly secure in predicting that the following will show up in the next set of ten: Ren & Stimpy, Homicide, ST:TNG.

Yeah, like I said, it was in no particular order, but your ordering seems pretty solid, LJ.

Never heard of Kids In The Hall, should I check it out?

OMG YES. Not only one of my favorite shows of the '90s, but seriously in my top 5 shows ever.

Canadian sketch comedy, FYI. But don't let the descriptors scare you off.

to Billy: O_O

Yeah, I want to give the benefit of the doubt because maybe Billy isn't somewhere in North America and I really have no idea what the impact of KITH is overseas, but I am kinda taken aback that there are still people who haven't even heard of the show. It's 20 years old now (another O_O for you).

Definitely semi-famous in the UK. I remember people talking about it at school and stuff. But it was shown quite late, so maybe someone a few years younger than me wouldn't know about it.

i had KITH explained to me by a Canadian former ilxor (possible lurker still) a few years ago but i've still only seen one of the films

There's plenty I haven't heard of in this poll. I probably know 90% of the British stuff and maybe 30% of the American / rest of the world stuff.

I'm aware of its existence but have never knowingly seen it (I'm mid-to-late 30s, UK-based, and mostly quite up on popular culture). Was it a late-night Channel 4 thing?

Yeah.

So far only two of my top 10 have placed (Adam & Joe, Knowing Me KY). I included Friends at no. 25 on my list as I have seen every episode multiple times (hard to avoid on E4) and I think there are some truly classic comedy episodes in there. It got better when they started acknowledging some of the characters as slightly twattish (ie Ross).

Re My So-Called Life - it's way more piss-takey of Angela (yet still empathetic) than I remembered, kind of viewed a lot from the parent's POV as well as Angela's. I love it though, despite several crappy filler episodes.

Anyway, holding high hopes for 3 of my top 5 to place.

KitH: Yeah, I definitely watched quite a few episodes. Certain it was on Ch4. Lots of Monty Python style joke cross-dressing, "I'm crushing your head" - something of a catchphrase between me and my mates at the time - Mr. Canoe Head... that's all I seem to remember really. It was good though.

xpost

Yeah, this is exactly what I was saying about My So-Called Life upthread. At the time, I was all, "This show totally gets what my life is like!". Seeing it recently, I was all, "This show totally got how ridiculous me and my life were like back then!". It walks a very fine line and it's super subtle about it. I think, at the core, it's just very honest, so the depth and the absurdity both shine simultaneously.

so maybe someone a few years younger than me wouldn't know about it.

Oh chap, you say the nicest things.

Whats this "the Day Today" thing that everyone's saying it'll top 5 place? Also lol @ Father Ted being #1, not likely. For better or worse my money's on Simpsons or Twin Peaks getting the gold.

Also, nice to see Futurama place, I wasnt expecting it to seeing as only S1 counted.

No Australian show placings though :(

And hurrah for Newsradio too, I voted that pretty high. Suprised it didnt show in the UK, it was primetime comedy in its day in Aus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv-LKUtiOxU

Whats this "the Day Today" thing that everyone's saying it'll top 5 place? Also lol @ Father Ted being #1, not likely. For better or worse my money's on Simpsons or Twin Peaks getting the gold.

for some reason ilx's Brit presence, and its cultural divide with the rest of the board, has seemed much more pronounced on the TV polls than it is with the film and music polls. the way some folks, lj especially, have been predicting things it's almost as if they think there were only UK voters in this thing.

Oh that thing. Bit like CNNNN/Have I got News for You/half a dozen other news satires (maybr it was first tho)

xpost lol, yeah I figured as much

that's because we are shit at film, shit at 00's TV and merely ok at music, but our 90's TV output has 3 or 4 gems which I will noisily back

obv simpsons and twin peaks gonna be all up in this top 5, maybe seinfeld too

No maybe about seinfeld I dont think! (in fact it may win)

you are shit at 00's TV, but still were pretty dominant in that poll

were we? if i'd voted i'd have only voted for like 2 uk shows. america has like the best 5 or 6 until you hit 'the thick of it'

forgot to vote but I really wish I had. was expecting Have I Got News For You to place due to british contingent but I'm not so sure now.

I dont recall seeing the 00's TV poll FWIW, where is the results?

Bit like CNNNN/Have I got News for You/half a dozen other news satires (maybr it was first tho)

Nothing like HIGNFY, except for being news related - it's painstakingly constructed skits rather than freewheeling riffs, and it satires the format and conventions of news programmes rather than topical stuff. Very beloved in this country, rightly so I think.

Trayce:

Unopened Boxsets that I liked the look of from the Pilot: The ILX Television 51 Show Countdown Extravaganza!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and it satires

Gah, 'satirises'. 'Satires' isn't a word. I am tipsy.

satires is a word. its the plural for satire.

'Satires' isn't the past simple form of 'satirise' is what I meant, DAMMIT.

Probably time for bed.

3rd person present indicative